*This will be the first in a four-part series this week where we will have four writers arguing the national championship credentials for the only NCAA teams left in March Madness: Ohio State, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville.

Hidden between the lines of the most depressing sports stories of the week â€“ Penn State's cover-up scandal putting a dark cloud over college football, and the NBA lockout threatening to put pro basketball on indefinite hiatus â€“ are two words that should cheer up anybody who frequents this site: "college" and "basketball.